Tracking images over time can provide useful information regarding the state and/or changes of an item(s) depicted in the images. Tracking anatomy, such as the left ventricle of the heart, for example, can aid in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the western world, which can contribute to increasing personal, community and health care costs. Modern imaging techniques, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Commuted Tomography (CT), for example, have been recognized as enabling assessment of the presence and extent of cardiovascular disease. Tracking a left ventricle over time can include segmenting images into three target regions: the left ventricle cavity, the myocardium and background. This can be difficult because: (1) there is overlap in intensity distributions among the specified regions; (2) the myocardium and papillary muscles are connected and have almost the same intensity; (3) the left ventricle cavity has an intensity distribution similar to the right ventricle; (4) there are no boundaries between the epicardium and some cardiac regions; (5) there are substantial size, shape and intensity variations among subjects. Certain known methods of tracking the left ventricle that utilize geometric constraints based on finite data sets and/or intensity-driven constraints assume that a distribution overlap within different regions should be minimized. However, such methods can provide erroneous results, for example, that include papillary muscles in the myocardium and/or include background in a tracked region. Also, tracking the left ventricle manually can be quite time consuming, and other methods are not suitable for use in a clinical environment.
Images used in connection with tracking anatomy can be created and/or maintained as part of an information system. Healthcare environments, such as hospitals or clinics, include information systems, such as hospital information systems (HIS), radiology information systems (RIS), clinical information systems (CIS), and cardiovascular information systems (CVIS), and storage systems, such as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), library information systems (LIS), and electronic medical records (EMR). Information stored may include patient medical histories, imaging data, test results, diagnosis information, management information, and/or scheduling information, for example. The information may be centrally stored or divided at a plurality of locations. Healthcare practitioners may desire to access patient information or other information at various points in a healthcare workflow. For example, during and/or after surgery, medical personnel may access patient information, such as images of a patient's anatomy, that are stored in a medical information system. Radiologists, cardiologists and/or other clinicians may review stored images and/or other information, for example.
Using a PACS and/or other workstation, a clinician, such as a radiologist or cardiologist, for example, may perform a variety of activities, such as an image reading, to facilitate a clinical workflow. A reading, such as a radiology or cardiology procedure reading, is a process of a healthcare practitioner, such as a radiologist or a cardiologist, viewing digital images of a patient. The practitioner performs a diagnosis based on a content of the diagnostic images and reports on results electronically (for example, using dictation or otherwise) or on paper. The practitioner, such as a radiologist or cardiologist, typically uses other tools to perform diagnosis. Some examples of other tools are prior and related prior (historical) exams and their results, laboratory exams (such as blood work), allergies, pathology results, medication, alerts, document images, and other tools. For example, a radiologist or cardiologist typically looks into other systems such as laboratory information, electronic medical records, and healthcare information when reading examination results.
There is a need for improved systems, methods and computer instructions for tracking images over time.